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Month: May 2010

Jamey Boiter on Fast Company’s site wrote about how B.P’s mismanagement of core oil fundamentals has ultimately, in my opinion, also sunken the B.Ps brand under a mile of water. If a company cannot fix a hole a mile under water then how can they justify drilling one in the first place.

The following paragraph made me laugh, and then it made me sick. The public continues to hear about the “solutions” but when you place their actual terms (and see B.P’s thought process)- I seriously question their ability to end this diaster. Any doubt that it will go down in history as the worst ocean oil disaster in history? In conclusion, if you own B.P stock, get out while you can! I would wait on the sidelines to see what eventually happens in the long term. B.P could fail just like all their laughable attempts at a solution. The well, MC252, has lead to a disaster that will forever stay in my memory. This travesty also serves as a first rate national crisis failure. I won’t get into politics in this post. However, Obama’s speech yesterday sums it up well, check it out below.

“Strategies to stop the leak are named “Top Kill,” “Top Hat,” “Hot Tap,” “Junk Shot.” They’re using something called “Corexit” as the oil dispersant. We have heard that the explosion was caused by “dead batteries in the dead man’s switch.” What is up with these heinous words being spewed about like oil leaking into the Gulf? Who came up with these names? I know what a “dead man’s switch” is, but given there have been 11 fatalities in this disaster, one would think BP would be more considerate about what they are saying. Or is “spilling” everything just part of their M.O.?

You could certainly argue that names don’t matter–that they can call their fixes Little Bo Peep as long as they do something that actually works. But it’s hard to fathom why BP isn’t branding the possible solutions to this crisis with more positive names that resonate a good outcome, even if it’s only their hope. Where is the crisis management group, and why aren’t they working with the same brand geniuses that brought us the Helios House and the beautiful iconography to at least make us feel a little better about this debacle?

I suspect there is group huddling as we speak, with marketers clicking their gooey, tar-ladened heels together and saying, “There’s no place like home.” Sorry, BP, you’ll be living with what may be the worst man-made environmental disaster in history for a long time.”

I live in Nashville in an area that has been severly hit by some of the worst storms to ever hit the United States. Believe it or not, my area was drenched in 18 1/2 inches of rain over the course of just a few days. I was not even aware this was possible. Nashville is now left with the effects of such extreme weather.

For the past many days, the national media has ignored Nashville for the most part. This is not right! We are in need of assistance and support. I think this interview sums this disaster up very well as well as sharing the media’s ignorance. Please watch the video by clicking on the link below. I tried my best to embed the video but CNN’s program pretty much sucks with wordpress.

This article on We Are Nashville Section 303 said it well, “The Cumberland River crested at its highest level in over 80 years. Nashville had its highest rainfall totals since records began. People drowned. Billions of dollars in damage occurred. It is the single largest disaster to hit Middle Tennessee since the Civil War. And yet…no one knows about it.

Does it really matter? Eventually, it will…as I mentioned, there are billions of dollars in damage. It seems bizarre that no one seems to be aware that we just experienced what is quite possibly the costliest non-hurricane disaster in American history. The funds to rebuild will have to come from somewhere, which is why people need to know. It’s hard to believe that we will receive much relief if there isn’t a perception that we need it.”

Here is a video that is of a Kroger that I normally shop at, just minutes down the road from me.

I volunteered my time on Monday where I caught something that had me in bed most of Tuesday and Wednesday. Who knows what it was when you walk through nasty water and get bumps and scraps all over. In addition, I was saddened by the sheer loss many individuals are now faced with.Nightmares and strange dreams happened throughout the week. I helped empty offices, garages, living rooms and kitchens where there was five feet of standing water just hours before I arrived. The fact that this was just a few miles from my place is hard to believe.